A Man Named Ansem
by Nexanda77
Summary: "Guess what we're doing today." Isa knows when Lea greets him like that he is about to be dragged into something that will ultimately get them in a whole lot of trouble. Still, he joins Lea on a seemingly harmless prank of breaking into Ansem the Wise's impenetrable castle. This prank takes an unexpected turn when they witness and become victims of the acts of a man named Ansem.


**Before we get to the story, you should know that this is technically part of my series **_**The Dark Seeker Saga**_ **taking place in the time between **_**MEKA **_**and **_**Those Seeking Answers**_**. HOWEVER, if you have not read **_**MEKA **_**you can still read this story and understand what is going on as it lines up as well with the time between BBS and KH1. **

**If you haven't read **_**MEKA **_**there are only two things you need to know,**

**1) Aeleus is not in this story and in his place is a boy named Keric who was in league with Xehanort.**

**2) Ages are slightly different than they are in cannon.**

**Other than that, it lines up for the most part with the canon story. Enjoy!**

****This is dedicated to LightzMusic22 for being the best fangirl ever.****

* * *

"Guess what we're doing today," Lea says, crouching down and pulling the book Isa is reading out of his hands. He chucks it behind him and looks expectantly at Isa.

Isa crosses his arms and frowns at his best friend. "I'm not going to indulge you by guessing."

"Indulge?" Lea says. He hates when Isa uses big words. What nine year old uses words like indulge anyways?

"I'm not guessing," Isa says poking Lea in the head and pushing the red head away from him. Standing, the blue haired boy picks his book back up starts to walk across the empty square at the center of the city of Radiant Garden, but Lea bounds after him and throws an arm around his shoulders when he reaches him.

"Find you party popper, I'll just tell you then."

Isa sighs in exasperation, but Lea ignores him knowing his friend is just pretending to not care. "We're gonna sneak into old Ansem's castle!" Lea grins at Isa expecting him to be just as excited, but Isa frowns.

"We already tried that stupid. Didn't work."

"I know that," Lea says rolling his eyes. "Come on." He starts pulling Isa towards the entrance to the underground of Radiant Garden. It was forbidden for them to go there, but for Lea labeling things with words like forbidden is the same as laying out a welcome mat. As they enter the underground, Isa's only protest is to sigh again. In truth, he is curious to know what Lea is planning. His friend is good at it is coming up with ways to get them where they don't belong.

"Where are we going?" Isa asks grudgingly after Lea had led him deep into the bowels of city without an explanation.

"It's this way," Lea says turning down a tunnel off the main one. It is much darker here and the boys pause for Lea to pull out his lighter. He sparks a flame and holds it up for them to see. The little light reflects off the golden pipes on the walls and they walk more quickly as their eyes adjust. After they have been walking for several minutes, Lea stops and turns to face Isa with the lighter held up to his face. The dancing flame creates shadows on his face as he say, "Have you ever heard the story of Screaming Sybilla?"

"Did you drag me all the way down here just to tell me ghost stories?" Isa says in annoyance. Everyone has heard of Screaming Sybilla. She is the local legend said to haunt the underground tunnels of the city. Supposedly she'd lived in the castle ages ago but was murdered by her own servants who later claimed to be possessed by evil spirits during the crime. They were hung in front of the castle, but they say you can still hear Sybilla scream out her murders names in the tunnels.

"I'm not talking about the ghost story," Lea says starting to walk again. "She was a real person. I was at the library reading-"

He stops as when Isa puts a hand on his shoulder. "You can read?"

"Shut up Isa." Lea throws his hand off and continues walking. "I was at the library _reading_ about her and got the real story. After they killed her, her servants hid her body in the tunnels where she wasn't found for weeks. When they did find her she'd been eaten by rats. They even ate her eyes." Lea turns back to Isa and makes a face at him, but Isa is unimpressed.

"So what does any of this have to do with us coming down here?"

"I'm getting to that part," Lea says as they come to a fork in the tunnel. Lea looks from left to right and back to left. "I think it's this way," he says starting to walk down the left tunnel.

"Do you even know where you're going?" Isa asks glancing around at the tunnel Lea choose which is much smaller than the one they'd been in previously.

"'Course I do," Lea says confidently. "Anyways, as I was saying, the reason they were able to hide the body without anyone seeing was because the basement of the castle has a secret entrance into the tunnels which they snuck her out through. I guess they used to use it all the time when the castle was first built, but now nobody goes down here."

"So it won't be guarded," Isa says softly realizing that Lea may have found the perfect way to get them inside. "I guess you're not totally useless."

"Thanks!" Lea says, then, "Wait...hey!"

Isa smirks at him. "So where is this secret tunnel?"

"It's-" Lea starts to say, but stops as the light of the flame falls on the dead end of the tunnel. "Um, right here."

"There's no door here," Isa says his eyes scanning the blank walls.

"Aw, I thought this was going to be our big break," Lea says shaking his head in disappointment. He plops moodily on the ground and his sudden movement causes the shadows from the light of his lighter to swing wildly. Something glints on the ceiling above them, catching Isa's eye. Without a word, he snatches Lea's lighter from his hand and holds it up.

"Hey!" Lea says jumping to his feet, but Isa ignores him looking with a satisfied grin at the handle on the ceiling that is reflecting the flame's light. "Is that a door?" Lea asks tilting his head up.

"Yep," Isa says pushing the lighter back into Lea's hands. "Give me a boost."

Lea holds the lighter carefully with his teeth as he puts his hands together to make a step for Isa. Isa steps onto his interlocked fingers and Lea pushes him up. "Watch the hair," Lea hisses past the lighter in his mouth as Isa grabs his head for balance.

"Sorry," Isa says. Now tall enough, he grips the handle and with a tug to break the rust coated on it, he turns it and swings the door in the ceiling open. Light from above floods down on them and using the sides of the now open door, Isa pulls himself up enough to peek his head into the new space. The door opens into the floor of a well lit but empty hall way with doors lining the walls along the way. Pushing himself up with his arms, Isa pulls himself out of the tunnels and into the basement of Ansem the Wise's castle.

"Pull me up," Lea says putting the lighter in his pocket and reaching up to Isa. Isa glances up and down the hall to make sure no one is coming before reaching down and pulling Lea up through the opening in the floor. Once they are both out of the tunnel, Isa closes the secret door and it's outline nearly disappears into the tile pattern of the floor.

As he straightens up, he finds Lea grinning at him with a rebellious glint in his eye. "Let's explore," Lea says and hurries off down the hallway with Isa half a step behind.

…

Lea and Isa may have just discovered one secret entrance into the castle, but Ienzo has wandered these halls his whole life and knows all the secrets the place has to offer. In fact, there are exactly four secret entrances and Ienzo knows where each is. Today, Even has left him alone in the library and gone down into the lab to work on the latest experiment with Xehanort and the other apprentices to Ansem the Wise. Ienzo is technically one of the apprentices, but he is kept away from most of the experiments because of his age. Usually this frustrates Ienzo who doesn't understand why being six years old means he can't work with the others, but today Ienzo is content to be left on his own.

Hopping down from the chair at the desk spread with books on the fundamentals of science that he had been reading, he goes to the bookshelf in the far corner of the room. There he pulls out a large purple book to reveal the hidden button behind it. Glancing over his shoulder to make sure he is alone, Ienzo presses the button and the bookcase swings open to reveal the hidden tunnel behind it. He enters the tunnel and closes the bookshelf door behind him. It's dark, but Ienzo walks confidently with his hand brushing the wall.

He smiles slightly to himself, happy that the old adults had left him alone today because this day every week is the day the boy who plays music comes to the gardens.

Ienzo walks for minutes in the quiet darkness, but soon he can see light at the end of the tunnel and wisps of music reaches his ears. The light strumming of guitar chords grows stronger with each step. He reaches the end of the tunnel and crawls under the bushes that hide the entrance from passers by. Under the shadows of the bushes, he peeks out at the rest of the gardens and quickly spots the dirty-blond boy sitting under a tree not too far from the spot Ienzo is spying on him from.

He is mesmerized by the boy's ability to use the instrument in his hands to produce the most beautiful sounds. It is like it is alive under his fingers. Ienzo knows that if he ever tried to do the same he'd never create such pure notes. But he doesn't mind; he's content to just lie under that bush and watch the other boy play. All at once, the boy stops playing meaningless chords and starts an upbeat song. For the first time, Ienzo hears the boy's voice and isn't the least bit surprised to find it is just as melodious as his playing.

**[**_**Promise the Stars**_ **by We the Kings]**

"_Let's take off in flight_

_And race through the sky_

_And like the hundreds of airplanes we're floating way up high_

_We'll never look down_

_We'll build our own town_

_And like the thousands of clouds we will never touch the ground_

_But would you risk some broken bones_

_Just to call this place home_

_This could be home"_

As the boy sings, Ienzo lays down under the bush and watches the sky through the leaves, letting his mind wander with the music. He is startled out of his reverie by the music stopping and a voice asking, "Aren't you going to come say hi?"

Ienzo jumps and peers through the leaves of his bush to see the boy looking directly at him with a smile on his face. Hesitantly, Ienzo crawls out of the bushes and stands. The boy beckons eagerly for him to come over and Ienzo slowly walks over, looking down at his feet. When he reaches the other boy he murmurs, "Hello."

"Hi!" The boy says. "I've seen you lots of times watching me play when I'm here."

Ienzo glances at him briefly. "I-I really li-like your guitar playing."

Ienzo ducks his head again when the boy frowns and replies, "It's a sitar not a guitar."

"S-sorry," Ienzo stammers.

"It's ok. You didn't know." Ienzo raises his head slightly to see the boy smiling at him again. "My name's Myde. What's your's?" The boy asks curiously.

"Ienzo."

"Hi Ienzo! I don't think I've seen you in town before. Are you new?"

"N-no," Ienzo says looking up at the castle looming over the city. "I've always lived here, but Even doesn't let me go outside often."

Myde follows his gaze and sees the castle. "Do you live there?" He asks pointing and Ienzo nods. "That's really cool! My dad says Ansem the Wise is very smart."

"He is," Ienzo says. "I get to help him sometimes with his research."

"Really? That's cool," Myde says. "I wish I lived in a castle."

"It's not all that fun," Ienzo says with a frown. "The grown ups treat me like a kid all the time and I have no friends there."

"Then I'll go back with you."

Ienzo looks at Myde's grin with confusion. "Why?"

"So that way you'll have a friend there," Myde explains. "We are friends right?"

"I-I guess," Ienzo replies. Friendship is a strange concept to him. Even looks after him for the most part, but he isn't really a friend. Neither is Briag, Xehanort, Keric, or Dilan. Sometimes Ansem the Wise has ice cream with him, but for the most part Ienzo is left alone in the big castle.

"So where is your super secret tunnel?" Myde asks running over to the bushes Ienzo had been hiding under before and peering through them.

"Follow me," Ienzo says crouching down and crawling back to the tunnel entrance. There he stands and brushes dirt off his lab coat while he waits for Myde to get to his feet as well.

"We're going in there?" Myde asks nervously. "It's really dark."

"Don't worry, I know the way," Ienzo replies starting to walk back towards the castle. "Just stay close." He jumps slightly when Myde runs to his side and grabs his hand. He looks for a moment at Myde who is still looking nervously at the dark depths of the tunnel before leading the blond boy down the tunnel with confidence. As they move further in and the light behind them fades, Myde's grip on his hand tightens, but Ienzo doesn't mind. He is happy to squeeze Myde's hand back and make the other boy feel more comfortable. In the dark, he smiles to himself, proud to have made his first real friend.

…

"You got us lost," Isa says crossing his arms as he and Lea come to a stop at an intersection of hallways.

"No I didn't!" Lea protests, but glances up and down both hallways hoping to see a sign to tell them if they've ever been here before. Who knew the basement of Ansem the Wise's castle was such a maze? And every hallway looked exactly the same with empty cells on each side. In darker times this must have served as a prison for hundreds of enemies of the ruler of Radiant Garden.

They reach another intersection of hallways and Lea throws his hands in the air in defeat. "Alright. You win. I got us lost. Now how are we-"

"Shh." Isa puts a hand over Lea's loud mouth. "Listen."

Coming from the hallway to their right is the sound of footsteps, walking along at an even pace. Isa leads the way as the creep down the hallway in pursuit of the footsteps. They turn a corner to see the back of a man in a lab coat with long silver hair who looks like he knows where he's going. Lea and Isa both shrug to each other before following him silently.

The man in the lab coat is oblivious to them as they follow him at a safe distance through the maze like basement. He leads them around a corner and the boys grab their noses as the smell of unwashed bodies and feces hits them. That's not the only thing different about this hallway; as the man walks calmly down the hallway, a voice calls out from one of the cells.

"Hey you bastard! Let us out of here!"

The voice is female and the sharp sound echoes through the basement. Lea and Isa duck back around the corner and peer carefully as the man in the lab coat pauses and back tracks to a cell where a dirty hand is reaching through the bars. "Just wait till I get my hands on you." The female doesn't sound scared, just angry. Her nails are wickedly sharp and scratch at the air in the direction of the silver haired man who turns so Lea and Isa can see his uncaring yellow eyes as he looks into the cell. The voice cackles and the hand lunges at him, but he takes a step back out of reach. "Oh, I'm going to take my time with you."

"I wouldn't bet on that." A new voice comes from one of the other cells in the hallway and the man in the lab coat turns to a cell door across from the one with the woman. This voice is male and has an accent that makes him sound snobby despite his situation. "Arlene, it seems to me, taunting our captor is a poor choice in move given our current situation."

"Shut it Rould. This isn't a game," Arlene shouts back.

"He has got a point Arlene." The newest voice is male, but soft. "We are in no position to be throwing out meaningless threats." Hands appear on the bars of the cell next to Arlene's. "This man obviously wants something from us. It is in our best interest to learn what that is."

"Excellent idea," Rould says. "I'm sure we can make a deal. Name your price sir and we will surely match it."

"I will make no deals," the man in the lab coat says in a cold voice that matches his eyes. "Not with the likes of you. You each possess something I want and I will take it."

"So much for talking it out Lumaria," Arlene says sarcastically.

"Learn your enemy Arlene," the soft voice of Lumaria says. "His words and actions will in time reveal his weaknesses."

"Time is something you do not have however," the man in the lab coat says going to the door of Lumaria's cell and looking in. "You each are here because you are the lowest dregs of darkness I could find in this world. A murderer," the man looks into Lumaria's cell, "a con artist and obsessive gambler," he gestures to Rould's cell, "and the human equivalent of a Black Widow," he walks back to Arlene's cell.

Arlene laughs. "You're too kind! I can't wait to sink my claws into you."

"Your lives have contributed nothing," the man continues. "But, they will be useful to me and you will become part of something much greater than your feeble minds can imagine."

"Oh! Tell us! I'm just dying to know," Arlene says sarcastically.

"All will be revealed in time." The man summons what looks to be a giant key in his hand and Lea covers his mouth to keep from gasping out loud. "That is, if you survive." Saying this, the man points the large key at Arlene's cell door and it unlocks with a light click. A moment later, a woman dressed in all black with spiky high heeled boots and slicked back blond hair bursts out the of the cell and throws herself with a scream of fury at the man with her nails out. She never touches him however as he thrusts the giant key forward and stabs her through the chest. Lea draws blood as he bites down on his lip to keep from screaming.

"Fate is indeed a cruel mistress," Rould says sadly from his cell. The man in the lab coat tosses Arlene's body aside and goes to Rould's cell. Opening the door, he enters and a small cry of pain is the only sound before the man comes back out with more blood on his strange blade. He points his key at Lumaria's cell and the lock clicks open. A man with blue eyes and long pink hair comes out. He stands in the middle of the hallway with a curious look in his eyes.

"Seeing the fate of my fellow prisoners, I am left to wonder at what awaits after death," Lumeria says in a calm voice.

"I have done much research on the subject," the man in the lab coat replies. "What has happened here," he gestures to Arlene's body on the floor and blood pool under it, "is not death as you perceive it. It is merely the separation of the body and the heart. They live on as separate creatures, more powerful apart then they would be together."

"How fascinating," Lumaria says his eyes sparkling slightly as he looked at the key in the man's hand. "If such is the case, I embrace the opportunity."

"You will be most useful." The man in the lab coat stabs Lumaria in the chest. "The power we gain is better than you can imagine." He pulls back his key and it vanishes from his hand as Lumaria's body falls to the ground.

Lea starts slightly as Isa tugs on his sleeve. His best friend's eyes are wide with fear and Lea is sure his look the same. Understanding what Isa is silently telling him, Lea starts to move away from the corner he had been watching around, but his shoes squeak on the tile floor. The man in the lab coat whirls around and his yellow eyes lock onto Lea's terrified green ones.

"Run!" Lea shouts to Isa and the two of them sprint off, back into the maze of the basement with heavy footsteps chasing after them.

Lea doesn't dare look back as he follows Isa down hallways and around corners in an attempt to lose the man. It seems to work as the footsteps soon fade. They don't stop though and continue to run until Isa pulls to a stop so fast Lea nearly crashes into him. "Stairs," Isa says and Lea looks with relief at the escape from the basement.

Taking them two at a time, Isa and Lea reach the top and find themselves in a huge space with machinery on the walls. They pause for a moment to catch their breath, but the man in the lab coat appears at the bottom of the stairs and Lea and Isa take off again, following more stairs up without any clue where they will lead. They burst through a door and into a computer room of sorts. A man with long blond hair in a lab coat had been sitting in front of the monitor, but jumps to his feet in surprise seeing them enter.

"What are you-" He starts to shout, but Lea and Isa push past him as the man chasing them comes through the door as well. There doesn't seem to be another exit to the room and the boys press themselves against the opposite wall. The blond man talks to the silver haired man as he glares at Lea and Isa. "Who are these boys and what were they doing in the basement, Xehan-"

He is cut off as the man steps forward and stabs him in the back with the giant key that had reappeared in his hand. "That is no longer my name, Even," the man says as Even's body falls to the ground.

His yellow eyes turn to Lea and Isa as he steps over Even's body, but as he raises his key, the wall behind Lea and Isa slides open and a man with black dreadlocks starts to walk in only to be knocked back a step as the two boys push past him. "Where did you-" he says in surprise, but his attention is caught by the blood on the floor. "Even!" He says running forward, but he is met by the point of the key aimed at his heart.

The silver haired man stares at him coldly. "Sacrifices must be made, Dilan," he says and stabs him in the heart. Dilan lets out one shuddering gasp before his eyes roll back and his body goes limp. With a jerk the silver haired man pulls his key out of Dilan's body which slumps on the ground. Stepping around the body, he leaves the computer room and enters a study lined with bookshelves and intricate drawings of the inner workings of the heart. An older man in a lab coat fixes his orange eyes on the man as he enters.

"What is going on in there?" The older man asks in a deep voice as he rises from his chair behind a desk. "Two boys just ran through my office like they were being chased by a demon." He goes to walk to the computer room, but the silver haired man is still in the doorway. "Out of the way Xehan-"

He stops when a large key shaped sword is pressed against his throat. "Ansem the Wise," the silver haired man says in a slightly mocking voice. "I believe it is time we had a conversation on the research I have been doing on hearts." He presses on Ansem the Wise's neck and forces him back into his chair. Ansem the Wise's eyes burn with anger, but he sits without a word as the man talks earnestly. "You forbid me to continue my research, but you know not the full power of the heart. I have discovered its most inner secrets. Heartless take shape around a person's lost heart, but a Heartless is not the only being created. Another comes into existence, formed from empty shell left behind. They are known as Nobodies."

…

Ienzo slowly opens the door of the library and peeks out into the empty hall way. He looks up and down, straining his ears to hear if any one is coming their way. Satisfied that they are indeed alone, he swings the door open fully and motions for Myde to follow him out. Ienzo creeps silently out of the library, but Myde runs out and looks around with excited wide eyes.

"This place is so cool," Myde says spinning in place.

"We have to be quiet or Even will get angry," Ienzo says.

Myde turns to him with a pout. "But I thought we were going to play."

"We can play," Ienzo says quickly. "We just have to be quiet. What do you want to play?"

"Tag!" Myde says at once. He grins and before Ienzo can reply he pokes Ienzo's forehead. "Tag you're it!"

Ienzo is surprised for a moment, but recovers as Myde races away from him laughing. Giving chase, Ienzo can't help but smile and laugh right along with him, forgetting his previous concerns about being too noisy. Myde is slightly taller than Ienzo and his longer legs make him quite fast, but whenever he starts to pull too far ahead of Ienzo, he slows and waits for him to catch up. However, Ienzo has the advantage of knowing the twists and turns of the castle by heart and chases Myde to a dead end hallway. Myde realizes he is trapped and tries to backtrack, but before he can Ienzo is able to touch his shoulder. "You're it."

The chase resumes except their roles are reversed. Myde quickly catches up to Ienzo, but before he can tag him, Ienzo takes off down a new hallway Myde hadn't seen before. It seems to take them deeper into the castle. Ienzo glances back to see Myde reaching out for him. He puts on a final burst of speed as he rounds a corner and runs right into a blue haired boy running in the other direction.

The two collide hard and both fall to the ground. "Ow," Ienzo says as he sits back up rubbing his head. He looks up at Myde leaning over him confused and concerned and a redhead also there with fear in his eyes.

"Myde? What are you doing here?" The redhead demands. "How did you get in the castle?"

"Ienzo showed me a secret tunnel," Myde says helping Ienzo to his feet as the redhead does the same for his friend. "What are you doing here Lea?"

"Isa and I were- that's not important right now," Lea says and he grabs one of Myde's hands and starts to drag him back the way he and Ienzo had come. "We have to get out of here now before he catches up to us."

"Who?" Ienzo asks.

"A man in a lab coat," Isa replies as he grabs Ienzo roughly and starts to drag him after Lea. "Do you live here?" Ienzo nods yes. "Good. Show us a way out."

Ienzo looks from Isa to the hallway behind them that leads to the the lab. All of this is very strange. He doesn't know why these two boys are here or why they seem to be scared of one of the apprentices, but there is something in their eyes telling him that they need his help. He looks at Myde who is just as confused as him and decides that if the boys are in trouble for trespassing, Myde would be in trouble as well if they got caught so with another nod Ienzo leads them through the winding hallways of the castle.

As they run, Myde is at Ienzo's side once more and he asks, "How do you know them?" He gestures to Lea and Isa behind them.

"They're my neighbors," Myde replies. "Our houses are all on one street in the Borough."

They can hear voices up ahead and they slow to a stop as Ienzo peers around the corner. He sees Keric and Braig talking in low voices, blocking the front door that would take them out of the castle. He moves to step back and lead the others to a different exit, but before he can Braig spots him and motions for him to come over. Ienzo signals to the others to stay put before walking slowly over to the other two apprentices.

"Where've you been all day, Ienzo?" Braig asks with his usual mocking grin. "Been looking for you everywhere."

"What for?" Ienzo asks looking warily at the two of them. No one is ever looking for him.

"We're doing an experiment and we need you to be part of it," Keric says and crouches down in front of Ienzo. Ienzo instinctively tries to back away, but Keric grabs his wrist. "It's not optional."

Ienzo's eyes widen and he tries to break free, but Keric's grip is stronger and before he knows it, the older boy has him slung up over his shoulder. "Let me go Keric!" Ienzo says, kicking his legs.

"Now was that really the best way to do it," Braig says in an exasperated voice as they start heading towards the lab. "You could have lied to him and said we were getting him ice cream or some-"

They turn the corner and come face to face with Lea, Isa, and Myde who are standing huddled together. Ienzo twists in Keric's grip to look at Myde who is staring at him in fear.

"What do we have here? A group of trespassers?" Braig is surprised, but a smile slowly spreads across his face. "I suppose a few more subjects couldn't hurt though." He pulls out one of his guns and the three boys gasp in fear. "Let's start walking kiddies," Braig says motioning with the gun at them and seeing no other option, Lea, Isa, and Myde let Braig and Keric force them back into the castle with all hope of escape now gone.

…

"You are a foolish man if you believe this will work," Ansem the Wise says, his orange eyes burning into the silver haired man's. "A heart is not something to be toyed with. A body and heart are one. Stop this unnatural talk of their separation."

"You have shut your eyes to the greater possibilities," the man says, his voice still even. "Hearts have power and I will find a way to take it."

"And what do you hope to achieve in your madness?" Ansem the Wise demands rising from his seat.

"All will be revealed if you survive the transformation." The man takes a step forward with his key pointed at Ansem the Wise's chest. Ansem the Wise takes a step back and finds himself up against a wall. He glares at the man, refusing to show fear as he waits for his death, but before the key can stab him, the door to his study is flung open and Keric and Briag march in with three boys and Ienzo.

The silver haired man turns away from Ansem the Wise to face the newcomers and Ansem the Wise takes his chance to escape. He focuses hard on the darkness in his heart. He'd only read about this in books, but it is now or never to give it a try. It takes a few seconds, but a dark spot forms in the air next to him and swirls into a full sized portal. The man turns back around and Ansem the Wise meets his yellow gaze one more time before stepping through the dark corridor and disappearing.

As the corridor fades, the man turns to Keric and Briag. "I will deal with him later," he says his eyes looking with satisfaction over the boys who tried their best to turn invisible. "Take them to the computer room." Keric and Braig comply and the man takes one last look around Ansem the Wise's office before following them.

As they enter the computer room, Ienzo can't help but let out a cry of shock at the sight of Even and Dilan's lifeless bodies. Braig just kicks them to the side to make room for them to force the boys to stand shoulder to shoulder. Keric finally puts Ienzo down next to Myde and Ienzo looks to the blond boy to see tears rolling down his face. He slowly slips his hand into Myde's. He feels safer despite the situation with Myde's hand in his and he sees the same calming effect in Myde's eyes.

The man with silver hair enters and stands in front of the boys, staring at them with his yellow eyes devoid of all feeling. "You four will be the most interesting part of my experiment," he says clasping his hands behind his back. "Children have stronger hearts than adults and we shall see if that will also make you stronger Nobodies."

"What are you going to do to us?" Lea asks in a quivering voice.

The man fixes his eyes on Lea who tries to back away, but Keric is right behind him and pushes him back forward. "I am going to separate your heart from your body just like I did to them."

The man gestures over his shoulder at the still bodies behind him. "You killed them," Ienzo says in disbelief. "Why Xehan-"

The man reacts with with lightning speed and slaps Ienzo across the face hard enough to make him fall. He tastes blood in his mouth when he raises his head again to see the man leaning over him with a key shaped blade now in his hand.

"Leave him alone!"

Myde jumps between Ienzo and the man with his arms spread out protectively. The man doesn't hesitate. He stabs Myde instead with his key. Ienzo hears Lea and Isa scream and Myde gasp in pain, but he can't make a sound as he watches Myde fall to the ground beside him, his shirt slowly turning red around the spot over his heart.

Now desperate, Lea meets Isa's eyes briefly before shoving his elbow hard into Keric's gut behind him. Keric doubles over and Lea shoves past him, heading for the door out of the computer room. When he reaches it, he realizes Isa isn't right behind him and stops.

"Lea!"

He spins around at Isa's call and sees his best friend pinned to the ground by Braig and the man raising his key shaped blade. "Run Lea!" Isa shouts, squeezing his eyes shut as the man stabs down.

Lea's body is no longer listening to him. He is rooted to the spot, unable to take his eyes off of Isa's body now still like the others. He can't do anything, but look up with wide, terrified eyes as the man walks to him and grabs him by the front of his shirt. Lea is lifted into the air so his toes just barely scrape the ground. He snaps out of his frozen state and tries to struggle, but his efforts are in vain. The man places his key over Lea's heart and Lea stops trying to pull away. "Please," he begs. "Please don't." The man sneers and stabs forward.

Ienzo looks up from his spot next to Myde's body and sees Lea fall in a heap on the ground as the man releases him. He glares up at the man as he walks over and crouches over him. He vows to get his revenge on the man who had taken his first and only friend from him as the man brings his key down and Ienzo closes his eyes tight.

Ienzo's body slumps beside Myde's as the man stands and turns to Keric and Braig. Keric is straightening up and holding his stomach with a grimace of pain. He doesn't even see the man's key before it is stabbed through his chest.

"Woah! Xehanort!" Braig says jumping back. "What are you-" He has to jump back again to avoid the man's key aimed for him this time. He isn't quick enough though and stumbles back, clutching his face where the blade had cut him.

"That's not my name. I'm not 'Xehanort'."

"What?" Braig says in a pained voice. The man stabs at him again and this time he doesn't have enough time to get away. He is able to let out one last shuddering breath before his knees buckle.

The silver haired man looks down at him as Braig's eyes start to close. "My name is Ansem," he says before turning the blade to his own chest and stabbing it deep. The key vanishes as his body falls to join the others.

Ansem's body begins to glow and a small pink heart rises out of him. All his victims, Arlene, Rould, Lumaria, Even, Dilan, Myde, Isa, Lea, Ienzo, Keric, and Braig, begin to glow as well and soon their hearts join his. Together, they fly down the hallways of the castle, leaving a trail of wreckage in their wake, and burst out of the castle's front doors reaching for the sky.

The sky over Radiant Gardens darkens and the city's residents come out of their houses to peer at the sky, wondering where the sun had gone. Screams start at the first sighting of the monsters appearing out of the ground. The monsters attack and fear turns to panic as everyone runs with no place to escape to. From the front steps of the castle a man with yellow eyes and long silver hair stands with his arms crossed and a smirk tugging at the corners of his lips. Ansem watches with a satisfied smile as the heartless he had created begin their long task of destroying the peaceful world bit by bit until nothing is left but shadows. The world would become his domain and from it he would launch his plan into action.

Back in the castle, the bodies that had laid slain on the ground are gone without a trace. They would wake elsewhere as new creatures and begin the second half of the plan behind the acts of a man named Ansem.

* * *

**If you enjoyed this I encourage you to read **_**The Dark Seeker Saga**_**. Book 2, **_**Those Seeking Answers**_**, is coming out really soon I promise!**


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